Pakistan's failure to police its border is a threat to us all
James Forsyth 12:59pm
The warning from the departing American commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan General Dan K. McNeill that Pakistan is once more pursuing the failed strategy of trying to strike a deal with militants needs to be heeded. The consequences of the Pakistani approach can be seen in the fact that attacks in eastern Afghanistan were up 50 percent year on year in April. It also threatens to once more create a safe haven for al Qaeda, undoing much of the progress that has been made against the group in the last year or so.
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Austin Barry
May 30th, 2008 4:19pm Report this commentPakistan tacitly accepts the proposition that there are no borders to the Ummah. It is only going through the border policing charade to appease the Americans and keep the dollars flowing, and talking to the militants to appease the more lively Islamists.
Recusant
May 30th, 2008 5:24pm Report this commentI was having a conversation with one of our spooks who is attached to the Director of Special Forces in Afghanistan who told me that fully one-third of the Taliban prisoners had formal linkages with the Pakistan military.
The government won't talk about it, but it is frightening.
Max Kaye
May 30th, 2008 6:50pm Report this commentAlas, Austin Barry and Recusant's source are both correct.
Commondog
May 31st, 2008 7:29am Report this comment"Pakistan's failure to police its border..."
What failure?
Pakistan's policing of the region is going precisely as it would wish.
What border?
Austin and Recusant have it spot on: this is a new game entirely, we need to start playing, quickly.
TGF UKIP
May 31st, 2008 9:48pm Report this commentThese are the reasons we need an expanded defence budget with more money devoted to intelligence and command and control equipment but, above all, more men in boots, better trained, better paid, better looked after in terms of accomodation for them and their families and better medical treatment when they need it. Liam Fox, it's about time you threatened resignation unless you get a budgetary undertaking on such matters.
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